Method of preparing sausage



June 15, 1954 E. c. SLOAN EI'AL METHOD OF PREPARING SAUSAGE Filed Aug.3, 1950 IN VEN TORS award 6.5mm /VarcaJZ h p'g/zpr mmmmull Patented June15, 1954 2,681,279 METHOD OF PREPARING SAUSAGE Edward C. Sloan andMarcus I. Wagner, Madison,

Wis.,

assignors to Oscar Mayer & 00., Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Application August 3, 1950, Serial No. 177,474

4 Claims. 1

The present invention relates, generally, to improvements andinnovations in comminuted meat and sausage products, and methods ofpreparing such products. More specifically, the invention relates to theelimination of air and oxygen and the use of nitrogen gas undercontrolled pressure in the preparation of sausage batter and meatproducts made with comminuted meat.

The tendency of products made of and with comminuted meat, such asground meat, sausage and sausage batter, to spoil and fade in color haslong been recognized and constituted a real problem in the meatindustry. When meat is comminuted, the surface area exposed to the airis increased many fold on the basis of unit weight. It is known thatcolor fading. spoilage and deterioration in flavor are due to theharmful effect of the oxidative reactions of the oxygen in the air, andan increase in the exposed or surface area of the meat results in anacceleration of these deteriorating actions.

Briefly stated, it has been found in accordance with the presentinvention that more stable and superior color, flavor, and keepingqualities can.

be obtained in sausage products, as well as other meat productscomprising comminuted or ground meat, by eliminating the presence ofoxygen in such meat products or maintaining the level of concentrationof the oxygen below that at which it will have any substantialdeteriorating effect, and including or incorporating in the comminutedmeat product sufficient nitrogen so as to produce the desiredimprovement in texture.

Furthermore, it has been found that substantial improvement in thetextur products with respect to quality and uniformity can be obtainedby chopping or comminuting the meat under controlled absolute pressuresof nitrogen.

The object of the present invention, generally stated, is the provisionof meat products made of or with ground or comminuted products made withsausage batter, and new and improved methods of making such products,which exhibit marked improvement and superiority in respect to color,flavor, and keeping qualities due to the introduction of nitrogen gasinto these comminuted meat products and the elimination or reduction inthe oxygen level thereof to the point where its normally deleteriouseffect is eliminated.

An important object of the invention is the improvement in uniformityand quality of texture of products made of or trolled negative orpositive pressures.

of comminuted meat meat, including with comminuted meat by; chopping orcomminuting the meat under con- Fig. 2 is a top plan view, partly brokenaway, of

the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

A present commonly used method of making Sausage batter is to feed the gound or hashed in gredients into a meat comminutor of suitable type,such as a silent cutter, in which the meat is finely chopped in anuncovered rotating bowl by rapidly rotating knives. Other known typesof.

comminuting and mixing machines may be used. In the process, besidescomminuting the meat the other batter ingredients,

the comminutlng apparatus acts to incorporate or beat air into thebatter. The introduction of a air is, on the one hand, desirable in thatit imparts adesirable texture to but, on the other hand, the entrappedair has an adverse effect in that the oxygen component thereof retardsthe formation of a cure color and induces the development of anobjectionable gray-brown faded color, and furthermore, the oxygenpromotes oxidative rancidity and aerobic the sausage product,

bacterial growth which cause spoilage and undesirable flavors.

Color of a meat product to which curing agents, such as sodium nitrateand/ or sodium nitrite have been added, involves the followingreversible reaction:

(Reduction) Mcthemoglobin Z2 Oxidation) (gray-brown) N O HemoglobinNitrosohemoglobln (red) (red) On the basis of this reversible reactionit will be seen that the presence of oxygen promotes theremove airtherefrom. The efforts in this dime-- promote the production of 7 ingprovided therefor in the bottom of bed ill, and for the balance offastened to the hinged cover portion 2|.

'tion of the cover tion have been only partially effective, and actuallydetrimental in certain respects, in that application of a vacuum resultsin compression of the sausage batter giving it an undesirable textureand making it tough to chew.

Referring now to merit of the present invention will be described inconnection therewith after which certain modifications will be describedand other embodiments of the invention referred to.

In the drawings, the reference character 5 designates, generally, a meatcomminutor machine of the type used for preparing sausage batter andhaving a rotating bowl 6 with rapidly rotating cutter Knives 1. Themachine 5 is mounted on a suitable frame structure which includessupporting legs 8-43. The bed H) of the machine is dish or bowl-shapedso as to receive th rotating bowl 3. The rotating bowl 6 has a centralhub portion l l which fits over and is supported on the upper end of adrive shaft i2. The upper end it of the shaft l2 which carries a bowlsupporting collar or flange i i fits within an openthe hub portion i ias shown. The shaft 52 is adapted to be driven by a suitable source ofpower (not shown) such, for example, as an electric motor.

the drawings, one embodi The bowl 6 has an annular shaped cavity l5 7and is covered by a hood or cover which is indicated generally at it.The cover it has a circumferential, laterally extending flange l8 on theportion thereof which remains in place on the the circumference has alaterally extending flange ill on the hinged portion 2|. The flanges l8and 2c ar adapted to fit against a laterally extending circumferentialflange 22 provided on the bed It. The flange 22 is provided with anannular groove in which is seated a gasket 23.

The main portion of the'cover' l5 including the flange l8 is permanentlybolted to the base H! by a series of bolts 2 2-24 which pass through themating flanges I8 and 22 as shown, for example, in Fig. 2. The hingedportion 2| of the cover it is connected'to the main portion thereof bymeans of an elongated hinge 25, one section 23 of which is faste ed tothe stationary portion of the cover and the other section 21 of which isThe stationary cover portion has a longitudinal shelf 25 which extendsunderneath the adjacent edge of the hinged cover portion 2| and thehinged joint is sealed by means of two longitudinal gaskets 3D and ticarried in grooves provided therefor as shown in Fig. 2.

In order that conveniently quick opening and closing clamps 32-32 areprovided in the form of bolts having eyes 3 by which the bolts areswingably connected to pins I9 provided therefor on the bed 13. Thebolts fit in registering slots formed therefor in the flanges 22' and.2c and may be tightened in place by wing nuts 29. When the machine is tobe opened, the wing nuts are loosened and the clamps 32 swung down outor" the slots as shown in broken line in Fig. 2.

The cutter knives 1 include and they are supported from a central hub 34which is mounted on a drive shaft 35. The porl6 which houses the cutterknives l is designated at 36 and is integrally formed with the remainderof the cover including a housing portion 31 (Fig. '1) from the outer Iend of which the shaft projects and on which is mounted a drive pulley38. The. casing 36 for the hinged portion 2| may be opened and closed, aplurality of three blades 33-33 7 machine by opening connection forwithdrawing air from the interior of the machine after it has beenloaded and sealed, and the connection 4| serves as an inlet connectionfor the introduction of nitrogen under controlled or regulated pressure.a

In preparing sausage batter in accordance with the present inventionusing the comminuting machine '5 described above and shown in theaccompanying drawings, the rotating bowl 6 is loaded with ground orchopped meat together with the other ingredients comprising the sausageformula. The hinged portion 2| of the cover It is closed and clamped insealing engagement and negative pressure is applied to the interior ofthe the valve is connected with a source of vacuum. A removal of theentrapped air or oxygen is obtained if the machine is in operation atthis time so that the bowl 6 is rotating and the cutter knives 1 arerapidly rotated. After the entrapped air has been removed, the vacuum isbroken by closing the valve 42 and introducing nitrogen under pressureby opening the check valve :33. The nitrogen gas in the hooded mathereinas the chopping ing portion 33 for the rotating knives in order that thestream of nitrogen is directed into the cutting knives l and therebycarried andchopped directly into the batter.

Additional ni trogen inlets may be provided if desired. Likewise, thelocation of the vacuum connection 49 in the casing portion 36 tends'togive a greater effectiveness to the vacuum in removing the entrapped airdue to the continuous agitation of knives l. Addi-. be added if the thebatter by the rotating cutter tional vacuum connections may need arises.

The exact operating conditions will depend upon such factors as type ofmeat product being comminuted and the particular comminuting apparatusbeing used. Thus, the percentage volume I of nitrogen to be entrappedwill vary with different products and will even vary with differentstyles of the same product. For example, wieners will normally containapproximately 12% by volume of nitrogen but certain stylesof weinerswill contain only 8% by volume of nitrogen. In general, an increase innitrogen pressure will result in an increasein entrapped nitrogenincorporated into a comminuted meat product, other conditions remainingthe same. Similarly,

an increase in chopping time will also increasethe nitrogen content ofthe product. However,

the chopping time is often fixed by other conditions and is not subjectto variation. Accord ingly, pressure control will be normally used toobtain the proper nitrogen conten gen pressure may range from a fewpounds lute, e. g. e. g. 30 pounds per square inch absolute.

After a batch of sausage batter has been prepared in the comminutingmachine or mixer 2| of the cover.

more complete and rapid Thenitro absofive, up to superatmosphericpressure,

. 51 the valve 43 is closed so as to shut off thenitrogen 1 pressureprior to opening of the hinged portion-- If desired, a pressure reliefsame meat products 5 valve may be provided so as to relieve anysuperatmospheric pressure which remains within the machine 5 after abatch is finished.

It will be appreciated that the improved process of the presentinvention may be carried out in other types and styles of comminuting orcutting machines than the one shown in the drawings and described. Infact, any standard or conventional type machine which now may be usedfor this purpose can be modified for the practice of the presentinvention by enclosing the machine in a suitable manner so that apositive pressure of nitrogen may be applied thereto after the machinehas been evacuated.

While the invention has been described particularly in connection withsausage batter and sausage products, it will be understood that it hasapplication to other products made of or with comminuted meat. Forexample, the advantages provided by the invention can be used to improvesuch fresh meat products steak, meat loaf, etc.

Meat products comminuted in accordance with the present invention,including such items as Wiener sausage, bologna sausage, liver sausage,and other sausage products, are superior to the comminuted inconventional or known manner in respect to color, flavor, keepingqualities, and texture. In order that the fullest advantage can begained from the present invention, the comminuted meat products made inaccordance therewith should be protected from the air by subsequentlyhandling and packaging in an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen.

Having fully described and illustrated the invention and certainpreferred embodiments thereof, what is claimed as new is:

l. The improvement in preparing meat products which comprises placing anegative pressure as hamburger, ground on the meat so as to removeentrapped air and oxygen therefrom and thereafter introducing nitrogeninto the meat and comminuting the meat in said atmosphere of nitrogen.

2. The improvement in comminuting meat called for in claim 1 whichcomprises chopping the meat in an atmosphere of nitrogen undersuper-atmospheric pressure.

3. The improvement in comminuting meat called for in claim 1 whichcomprises chopping the meat in an atmosphere of nitrogen undersubatmospheric pressure.

4. The improvement in the preparation of sausage batter which comprisesplacing a negatives pressure on the batter so as to remove entrapped airand oxygen therefrom and thereafter introducing nitrogen into the batterand mixing the sausage batter in said atmosphere of nitrogen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 91,552 Lyman June 22, 1869 1,863,355 Schibsted June 14., 19321,945,669 Vogt Feb. 6, 1934 1,992,566 Tone Feb. 26, 1935 2,147,261 LewisFeb. 14, 1939 2,230,062 Jordan Jan. 28, 1941 2,266,877 Lindberg et alDec. 23, 1941 2,318,178 McKinnis May 4, 1943 2,425,912 Appel et a1. Aug.19, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,362 Great Britain Dec.6, 1890 of 1890

1. THE IMPROVEMENT IN PREPARING MEAT PRODUCTS WHICH COMPRISES PLACING ANEGATIVE PRESSURE IN THE MEAT SO AS TO REMOVE ENTRAPPED PRESSURE OXYGENTHEREFROM AND THEREAFTER INTRODUCING NITROGEN INTO THE MEAT ANDCOMMINUTING THE MEAT IN SAID ATMOSPHERE OF NITROGEN.